A small form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceiver is a compact, hot-pluggable device that may be physically connected to a host device via an electrical interface, such as a SFP socket or a SFP+ socket, on the host device. The purpose of a SFP transceiver is to connect the host device to a network. SFP transceivers may be used to receive data as input from the host device and deliver the data to a recipient over a networking cable connected to the SFP transceiver. The form factor and the electrical interface of a SFP transceiver are typically specified by a multi-source agreement (MSA).
One model of a SFP transceiver may be constructed to have a transmitter or receiver that sends or receives data differently than another model. As such, given factors such as bandwidth, operating distance of the network cable, and the type of network cable, one model of SFP transceiver may be better suited in a particular instance than another model. Currently, to determine which model of SFP transceiver to use, a user manually ascertains the pertinent characteristics of the host device and the network cable, and thereafter manually selects the model of SFP transceiver deemed by the user as being the best fit to service those characteristics of the host device and the network cable deemed pertinent.